NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks and NHL Mobile name and logo, NHL GameCenter and Unlimited NHL are trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.

League, Union encouraged after eight-hour meeting

Wednesday, 12.05.2012 / 8:57 AM
Dan Rosen
- NHL.com Staff Writer

NEW YORK -- After meeting for approximately eight hours Tuesday, representatives from the select group of National Hockey League owners and players involved in the latest round of negotiations toward a new Collective Bargaining Agreement indicated they expect to continue their face-to-face dialogue Wednesday.

"I appreciate the efforts of the players, in particular we had 18 players in there [Tuesday] and six of our owners," National Hockey League Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said after the meeting adjourned shortly after midnight. "I think everybody is working hard. I think everybody wants to get a deal done, so I think that's encouraging.

"We look forward to hopefully making more progress [Wednesday]."

Daly said the NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association have not confirmed when they will resume discussions Wednesday, but it will likely be before the NHL convenes its Board of Governors meeting at 11 a.m. ET.

Daly said the sides will also likely meet in the afternoon Wednesday after the conclusion of the Board of Governors meeting.

"I thought it was a constructive day, we had a good dialogue," NHLPA Special Counsel Steve Fehr said. "In some ways I'd say it might be the best day we've had, which isn't to paint too overly optimistic of a picture.

"There is still a lot of work to do and a lot to get done, but we'll be back at it [Wednesday] morning."

The meeting Tuesday at a midtown Manhattan hotel was the first time representatives from the NHL and NHLPA got together since two days of discussions with federal mediators last week yielded no progress.

After the second day of mediation concluded, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman proposed a players-owners meeting that excluded both Bettman and NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr.

Daly and Steve Fehr were involved in the meetings. They made their statements to the media while standing together at the podium.

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks and NHL Mobile name and logo, NHL GameCenter and Unlimited NHL are trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.